2002 Engineering Fellows Named

Nine Mississippi State University alumni have been named 2002 Distinguished Engineering Fellows.

Presented by College of Engineering Dean Wayne Bennett, the annual MSU honor recognizes career and life accomplishments.

The nine are:

Hugh W. Coleman of Huntsville, Ala.-- The 1969 mechanical engineering graduate and Clinton [Miss.] native is a professor of mechanical engineering and Eminent Scholar in Propulsion at the University of Alabama-Huntsville. While a member of the MSU mechanical engineering department 1978-91, Coleman was a William L. Giles Distinguished Professor, the university's highest faculty honor. He is a doctoral graduate of Stanford (Calif.) University who earlier worked as a researcher at the Sandia National Laboratory in that state.

Pascagoula Mayor Joe D. Cole Jr.-- In addition to leading the Gulf Coast city of more than 26,000, the 1971 industrial engineering graduate also is a vice president at Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, a major ship design and construction facility.

Barrie McArthur of Canton-- A 1967 electrical engineering graduate, he is founder and president of Ridgeland-based Diversified Technology Inc., which designs microcomputer circuits and systems for telecommunication, medical and other industrial computer applications.

Thomas B. Nusz of The Woodlands, Texas-- The 1982 petroleum engineering graduate is vice president for acquisitions at the Houston office of Burlington Resources, which he joined in 1985 after working at Superior Oil in Midland.

David B. Beasley of Raleigh, N.C.-- The 1971 agricultural engineering graduate and Forrest City, Ark., native is a professor of biological and agricultural engineering at North Carolina State University, where he has helped establish a statewide information system for water quality problem identification and management. He also holds master's and doctoral degrees from MSU and Purdue University, respectively.

Frank C. Thames of Hampton, Va.-- The 1966 aerospace engineering graduate and Jackson [Miss.] native is head of the communications and computer systems branch of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Langley Research Center in Hampton. Thames also holds master's and doctoral degrees from MSU.

Lester Andrews of Charlottesville, Va.-- The 1963 chemical engineering honors graduate and Starkville [Miss.] native is a chemistry professor at the University of Virginia. He also is a doctoral graduate of the University of California at Berkeley who has held Sloan and Fulbright research fellowships at Berkeley and at Southampton and Oxford universities in England.

Jimmy D. Clark of McComb-- A 1961 civil engineering graduate and owner of Clark Construction Co., he is a past president and man of the year of the Mississippi Associated Builders and Contractors organization.

John D. Mauldin of Clinton-- The 1978 electrical engineering graduate and Starkville native is a director in Computer Sciences Corp.'s Federal Sector High Performance Computing Unit. He also holds an MSU master's degree in computer science.